rubbed his hands nervously across his trousers at the knees. ‘My evidence? I don’t know that I was much use, sir. I really didn’t know anything, unfortunately.’
‘Yes, that was very apparent,’ Clement said, so dryly that the younger man actually blushed. ‘Let’s see if we can’t get a little more specific, shall we?’
The young man swallowed hard and made a stab at a smile. ‘I’m not sure it’ll be much use, sir. I don’t really know why I was called at all, if I’m honest.’
The older man waved that sally away as if swatting a fly. ‘You say you never actually saw Derek Chadworth on the punt you were on?’ Dr Ryder began, gently but firmly.
‘No, that’s right. That’s what I said. But, of course, he might have been on the other punt.’
‘Hmm.’ The coroner made no attempt to hide his reaction to this bit of flummery. Instead, he went off on a different tack. ‘Did you know Derek well?’ he shot out crisply.
‘Oh, no.’
‘But wasn’t he a member of the Marquis Club?’ Clement slipped the knife in smoothly.
Trudy was interested to see the young man actually start in his chair and then go very pale. ‘What?’ For a moment, his face seemed to fight for some sort of expression. Horror? Surprise? Dismay? Confusion, certainly. Eventually, he swallowed uncomfortably and gave a rather sickly smile. ‘No. No, I’m sure he wasn’t.’
‘Ah. I thought that might have been why Lord Littlejohn invited him,’ Clement said, careful to keep his voice conversational.
Lionel Gulliver, perhaps taking heart from this, seemed to gather his wits together with a bit of an effort, and manage a second, more convincing smile. ‘Oh, no, I don’t think that could have been the case. Er, I mean, you’d have to ask Jeremy that, wouldn’t you?’ he added, glancing longingly out of the window.
Trudy, her shorthand competently filling her notebook, thought Lionel looked as if he wished he might jump out, so uncomfortable did he seem.
‘Yes, we’ll be sure to do that when we see him,’ Clement said non-committally. ‘So, let’s have this straight once and for all. Is it your opinion that Derek Chadworth was not at the party the day he drowned?’
Again, Lionel seemed to start in his chair. He really was a nervous sort, Trudy thought, beginning to feel, perhaps for the first time with any confidence, that the coroner really was on the track of something with this case.
‘Well, as a matter of fact, no, I don’t think I am saying that,’ Lionel said, a shade confusingly. ‘I’m beginning to think that perhaps Derek was on one of the punts after all.’
Trudy felt her mouth fall open at this unexpected about-face. She shot a quick, perplexed look at the coroner, who was regarding the theology student with his head cocked a little to one side, rather like a robin regarding an interesting worm.
‘So, are you saying you did see him that day? At the party?’ Clement said slowly.
‘No! I mean… I think I might have. But I can’t swear to it.’
The coroner regarded the young man steadily for a moment or so and noticed that the unfortunate youth was actually beginning to sweat – not to mention fidget about nervously on his chair.
He also noticed that Gulliver’s rather weak mouth had now begun to set in a thin, stubborn line, and that his chin had come up. Clearly, he’d reached the point where he was willing to be stubborn about things. Which meant pushing him further would be pointless.
Thus, Clement sighed and rose to his feet, catching Trudy completely unawares. ‘Well, thank you for your time, Mr Gulliver,’ he said abruptly. ‘I understand you’re going to train for the priesthood?’
‘The Church of England, yes,’ the young man said, getting to his feet with alacrity, a look of utter relief passing across his unremarkable features.
‘Hmm. In which case, you’ll know what the Bible has to say about bearing false witness?’
Lionel Gulliver gulped audibly. ‘Yes, sir, I know that,’ he muttered wretchedly.
The coroner nodded, smiled briefly, and then clapped the young man on the back so hard he had to actually take a step forward to prevent himself from falling flat on his face.
‘Well, good luck, Mr Gulliver,’ he said jovially, and Trudy, hastily shoving her accoutrements back into her satchel, trotted out after him, very aware of one pale-faced theology student staring miserably after them.
Once again in the sunshine outside, she stood blinking in the bright light for a moment, and then sighed heavily. ‘Well, that was a waste of time,’ she muttered.
‘Do you think so?’ Clement asked, and something in his tone had her shooting him a quick, suspicious look.
What had he seen or heard or deduced that she had missed?
‘You know, I’d be willing to bet… yes, I’d be willing to bet half a crown that that young man has been “got at”,’ Clement mused out loud. ‘Someone has persuaded him to keep his mouth shut.’
Trudy didn’t know if she was willing to go that far, but wisely kept silent, accurately guessing that he wasn’t going to elucidate any further.
They set off up the path bordering the quad, and called out a farewell to the porter as they passed through the gates and headed towards the coroner’s car. This was a smart-looking Rover 75-1110 P4, which he’d parked (illegally, Trudy noticed with a guilty flush) on some double-yellow lines in a side alley.
Like the gentleman he undoubtedly was, he unlocked and held open the passenger door for her and then shut it once she was safely inside. After getting behind the wheel, however, instead of turning the key in the ignition, he settled in his seat and stared blindly out at the city going about its business outside.
‘You know, Trudy, I think it might be time you learned how to work undercover,’ he astonished – and thrilled – her by saying.
‘What do you mean?’ she asked eagerly.
‘Well, you’re of an age to be a student. Out of uniform, you could easily pass for a college gal. I want you, starting tomorrow, to dress in civvies and start hanging out at the regular student haunts – there’s that bookshop café in St Ebbes for a start. And the pub by the river – you know the one. Use your initiative. Start making friends. Chat about Derek and the Marquis Club. Find out what your average student not in Lord Littlejohn’s intimate little circle is saying and thinking about it all. But don’t be too obvious about it. Think you can do that?’
Trudy, who was feeling a mixture of alarm and excitement at the thought of working while not shackled to her uniform, forced herself to look calm and serious.
‘Of course I can, Dr Ryder,’ she said calmly. But, inside, her heart was beating like that of a bird caught in a trap. To work like a proper detective, and without having her uniform instantly identify and restrict her, was freedom indeed! Rising to the ranks of the CID was her ultimate (and secret) ambition. She’d be the first woman to…
But then, as reality came back in a
